Curses and Kisses
by lahays711
Summary: Princess Silverbirch has been cursed, and is not allowed to speak to boys. However, when she is sixteen, she is unwillingly placed in a competition to win the Prince's favour...
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I don't own any fairytales. But I wrote this one which is based on Sleeping Beauty.**

Once upon a time, I was born. Yes, and when I was born, the whole kingdom stopped its work and rejoiced. My parents held a magnificent celebration, inviting all the nobility and fairies from across the kingdom. Of the nobility, there were fourteen in all, enough to fill one whole banquet table. However, there were only thirteen fairies in all the land. My father decided not to invite one of them, for she practiced the dark magic. He also didn't want an unlucky number of fairies at my celebration. Of the twelve fairies, three would come and give me a gift. Not just any gift, but a magical gift. So there was the banquet, two massive wooden tables all facing the royal stage (we royals sit higher than the rest) where my parents were on their thrones and I was lying in my royal cradle. When the trumpets sounded, the three fairies flew up towards my cradle, wands ready. The first one, Blossom, gave me beauty.  
"Princess, you shall be royally fair,  
With violet eyes and silver hair!"  
Then the second fairy, Foxglove, gave me intelligence.  
"Princess, you will be smart for sure,  
Reading and writing, but not of law!"  
You think you know what's going to happen, right? The third fairy will give me a gift and we'll all fly away home. Well I'm telling the story, not you. Anyway, before the third fairy could come up, the hall doors burst open and in stormed the missing fairy/witch, Iago. She was dressed in black and she raised her wand and yelled,  
"Princess, you are cursed,  
For when true love's kiss passes your lips,  
You will kill the man!"  
So, when I was only two days old, I was cursed. It didn't even rhyme. So I was forbidden to talk to boys. I spent my time reading, writing and dancing. Until one day when I was was sixteen, a letter came.

**in the next couple of chapters, (well, the whole story) it will be written in third person, but at the end, Silverbirch (the princess) will 'say' stuff because she's a really fun character to create. Please review!**


	2. Chapter 1: The Letter

**Hey again guys, this is chapter one, the other one was a prologue. After you read this, please review! I will not post another chapter until I get three reviews! IS THAT TOO MUCJH TOO ASK?!**

Chapter 1- The Letter

The messenger rode swiftly, knowing that the letter must be delivered as fast as possible. He urged his horse onwards, whispering into its ear. The horse whinnied and streaked through the castle gates, stopping at the drawbridge gates.  
"Open up, got a message for the king here," the messenger stated, "hurry up there, that's it, easy does it."  
"Who are you, comin' in 'ere an' bossin' us round?" The gatekeeper protested.  
"Believe me when I say that there will be spilling of blood if the king doesn't get this letter today."  
"Ooh, tryin' to scare us? Well, well."  
The messenger put his hand in the hilt of his sword and growled. The gatekeeper, seeing that he meant business, let the drawbridge down. The messenger rode through, and entered the castle courtyard.

Princess Silverbirch paced her room anxiously. She had been sent up here almost an hour ago, her maid hadn't come with her tea and biscuits, and she could hear something going on down in the courtyard, but as her room faced the gardens, she had a limited understanding of what was going on. As the noise increased, she paced faster, her silver hair whipping around her shoulders as she turned. She pushed it out of the way, and sat down in a chair. The courtyard was getting louder now, so Silverbirch put on some violet sippers, and crept down the stairs, and slipped out the door to the courtyard, where a strange man on a horse was trying to tell the knights one thing and the servants the other. Silverbirch strode into the middle of the yard and yelled, "Silence! All of you! Now, listen to this weary traveller, for I wager he has come a long way."  
The messenger bowed and replied, "thank you, Princess. I have come from the next kingdom, the kingdom of Visconti. His Royal Highness Prince Jadis of Visconti seeks a wife. He is beginning a competition to test and observe the talents of every eligible royal of noble maiden in all the world! Princess, this letter is for you." He lent down and gave the sealed parchment envelope to Sliverbirch. She inclined her head, and spoke, "this traveller shall eat with the servants. I will speak with my parents about the letter, and you shall stay the night, traveller."


	3. Chapter 2: Off She Goes!

**Author's Note: I am sorry this took so long to write, the end of term is always very busy. Anyway, it's holidays now! Please review this chapter soon!**

Chapter 2- Off She Goes!

Silverbirch strode into the palace, her head high. She knew what was about to proceed. Her mother would sigh and murmur incoherently, and her father would pace up and down the room, and yell to kingdom come about the curse, the kingdom, and Prince Jadis' family. Still, Silverbirch went and presented the letter to her father. He held it in one hand, as though he'd rather not have anything to do with it or its contents. He spoke softly, "What is the meaning of this, daughter?"  
Silverbirch swallowed nervously and burst forth with, "It's a letter from the Kingdom of Visconti, and Prince Jadis is having a competition to seek a bride, but I'm cursed and if I went and fell in love with him, then I'd have to kill him and then I'd have to be locked up in a dungeon under the palace and be fed on bad and water!"  
The king looked taken aback. His quiet, mysterious daughter never had emotional outbursts like this. The letter must have upset her more than he had anticipated. He sighed, heaving in a deep breath before slitting the envelope with his dagger. Silverbirch snatched it from him and read the following:

His Majesty the King of Echarpe,

The Prince Jadis has celebrated his eighteenth birthday and wishes to marry before he takes the throne. Therefore, he must observe each of the most eligible maidens in the world before commencing with his wedding. Her Royal Highness the Princess Silverbirch is hereby invited to participate in a competition of the brides. The competition will formally begin on the 12th of June, but contestants are required to arrive a week before, for the information sessions and a formal introduction to His Royal Highness the Prince Jadis. Of course, R.S.V.P's are required.  
His Majesty's Secretary Finn

Silverbirch shrieked, and again the king gasped. His daughter, the kind, quiet one, had just shrieked. He sighed again and called for his wife, Mirabella, to come and hear him out. The two women sat down and listened as the king made his point.  
"As you both know, Silverbirch has been cursed and cannot fraternise with young men. However, nobody outside of this kingdom knows of this. Price Jadis of Visconti is holding a bridal competition and it will be closely followed by the people of all the kingdoms worldwide. If we, as an independent nation, fail to present our princess, it may result in disaster," the king said, pausing for effect. "Therefore, I see but one solution: to let Silverbirch go and hope that she may not win the competition. That is the safest way."  
The queen stood up, smiling, and said,  
"But darling, our daughter has exceptional talents that cannot be wasted. Should she win the competition, what would we do then?"  
"We shall cross out bridges when we come to them, my dear. In the meantime, have some new clothes made up for Silverbirch, and we'll send her off on Saturday. She will be there in time."  
The king went back to his mapping, and the queen began walking towards the door when Silverbirch found her tongue.  
"You forget how I might feel! Would you like to be packed off in two days time to compete for a Prince? Are you not disgusted by the idea? What of the curse?"  
The queen stopped and turned around, addressing her daughter with a tight expression.  
"You will go. We have ordered you to. Your task is to impress the Viscontis' but not to win the competition."  
"Fine."  
And they went off to the dressmaker and spent the afternoon surrounded by piles and piles of velvet, silk and pearls.

Saturday morning dawned fair and clear, the sun just visible from under a fluffy white cloud. Silverbirch said a tearful good bye to her parents and ascended the carriage steps for the four our journey. As they pulled out of the castle, Silverbrich wondered what was going to happen to her. She knew that she could never love someone with such a name as Jadis, but that wasn't the point of this little adventure. S&E was going as a representative of Echarpe, to gain favour in the House of Royals in Visconti, making the two countries better allies. Silverbirch sighed. Her life was a game of chess for the nobles and her parents. It was all about making the right moves to gain things for their kingdom. She knew that, but she had accepted the fact that there was no escape. Not that she wanted to escape. She liked her life just the way it was. As the carriage's rocking motion lulled her to sleep, Silverbrich was unaware that someone was following her.


	4. Chapter 3: A New Home

**Author's Note: Thanks for all the reviews, I'm sorry this has taken so long to write, it's a very long chapter.**

* * *

Chapter 3- New Home

Iago ran through the underbrush, following the carriage as it rumbled along the road. She couldn't lose track of it. Silverbirch must win the competition, for she didn't get cursed for nothing. Iago would take immense pleasure in watching her die in the arms of Prince Jadis.

* * *

When the carriage stopped at the immense marble gates of the palace of Visconti, Siberbirch woke up. She yawned, and stared out the window in interest. The palace wasn't like the grey stone one Silverbirch had just come from. It was white and spotless, made of marble and hung with white and blue linen fastened with gold bindings. There were many exotic plants lined up along the drive. It looked like something from a foreign country. Silverbirch sighed, wishing she was home again in a castle that looked like it belonged against a backdrop of fir trees, not like it had been transported brick by brick from someplace else. As she was looking, a footman dressed in blue and gold came an opened the door of the carriage. He spoke stiffly and with an odd accent.  
"Welcome Your Highness. If you will step this way, I will take to you the meet the other bridal contestants."  
"Thank you, but will someone bring my trunk up? I would hate for it to be left out."  
"Of course Princess."  
He extended his hand and helped her from the carriage, and marched her solemnly up the drive, through the palace doors, and continued along a series of corridors. Silverbirch was not used to being dragged along like this and she pulled her hand away from the hasty footman.  
"I beg pardon, but I am used to a more...formal introduction to foreign courts, being presented to the family and having a banquet. Not being dragged along by a footman."  
"The contestants will be presented to the Royal Family tonight, but for now we must hurry. You were the last competitor to arrive and they are waiting."  
"Sorry."  
The footman continued along his way, however, he did not take Silverbirch's hand again. They finally came to the west wing where the contestants were being housed. He rapped on the door and a matronly lady opened it.  
"Yes?"  
"The last contestant, ma'am, a princess Silverbirch."  
"Come in, lovey. Your trunk arrived not five minutes ago. You're on the last bed, the one under the window. I thought Silverbirch such a lovely name that I just had to give you the best bed. You don't have any previous connections with any of the others do you?"  
"No, I don't Mrs...?"  
"Mrs Roberts to you. If you don't know the others, then let me tell you all about them. They all went to visit the gardens. As you can see, there's thirteen beds in here, and another fifteen in the other room, all of them full. The bed on the left side of the room, closest to the door is for Princess Madeleine. Mind you put an accent on it, for she's French, and they don't take kindly to being mispronounced. She just swept in when she arrived, demanding that her bed be made over with silk sheets and a lilac coverlet. Plum just wouldn't do for her. The one next to her is the Greek princess, Helanine. She has the sweetest wardrobe, and she didn't fuss about the way her bed was made. Of course, everyone has faults and hers is gossip. If you tell her anything at all, she'll, change it and make it more thrilling, then pass it on. The third bed is princess Lavender. She is just a darling, and gets along with everyone except for Madelaine. She took one look at her and went to sit on Helaine's bed and have a good old gossip with her. Of course, Lavender didn't gossip, she just fuelled Helaine. The fourth and fifth beds are the twins, Averil and Rosamund. Don't their names thrill you? They are perfect angels, smart as they make them. I think you'll get on with them well, and it's a great comfort to me that you're bed is in the middle, for you might just be the peace maker in here, for the other six girls are all followers of Madelaine, demanding this, and that and generally copying her. They're called Cordelia, Jane, Josie, Hope, Lillian and Jamesina. There now, cheer up. Averil and Rosamund will take one look at you and become your best friends."

* * *

The other twelve girls came back into the west wing about ten minutes after Silverbich had finished unpacking her trunk into the closet she had been given. She looked up as the doors burst open, hoping to see a friendly, smiling face, but all she saw was an angry, storming face.  
"What is is? My bed 'as been taken!"  
"Hello, I'm Silverbich. This isn't your bed, it's mine and yours is next to the door."  
"Humph! I'm the Princess Madeliane."  
"I'm the Princess Silverbich, and I do apologise if you wanted this bed. Where are all the others?"  
"Humph! Silverbich, what an...interesting name."  
Silverbich sighed and gave up all hope of ever gaining respect from Madelaine. From what Mrs Roberts had said Madelaine was best left alone. Silverbich peered behind Madelaine, and saw six girls all doing their best to imitate Madelaine's expression. They must be the 'followers.' Behind them, Silverbirch saw a girl with magnificent black hair wearing a pearl coloured dress, whispering in another girl's ear. She must be Helaine, whispering to Lavender, who was dressed in...lavender! Beyond Helaine and Lavender were the twins, Averil and Roseamund. Averil had golden hair flowing down her back and starry violet eyes, while Roseamund had nut-brown glossy hair, coiled in braids around her head and deep ocean blue eyes. They both looked at Silverbich and smiled. After Madelaine had cleared out the door, the girls each went to their beds and opened their trunks as Mrs Roberts came back in.  
"Now now girls, this is your newest roommate, Primcess Silverbich. I want you all to welcome her nicely, and choose a ball gown for tonight. Nothing to skimpy, mind."  
After Mrs Roberts left, Averil and Roseamund came over to Silberbirch's bed.  
"Hello, Silverbich," Averil said, "I do hope you're nicer than the others in here. Madelaine is simply awful, and her cronies are terrible."  
"Helaine can't be trusted with anything, and although Lavender is nice, she isn't _one of us_," Roseamund continued, "but _you_ will be, won't you?"


End file.
